This is our camp site at Dingboche. On the stone wall to the right are two of the aluminum bowls we used for washing various parts of our anatomy when the urge struck us. All water provided for us was boiled properly and to minimize the problem of G.I. infections spreading, we washed our hands with an anti-bacterial soap and rinsed them in potassium permanganate before meals. No towels were ever used to dry our hands or for that matter to dry the cooking pots. Towels can't be easily laundered obviously and so would become collectors and spreaders of bacteria. When we woke the next morning, we prepared to do the day trek up the Imja Khola valley to Chukhung (15,584'). We would return to Dinboche for a second night's sleep (climb high, sleep low).